Legacy of the Ancients, Destiny of the Tau'ri
by tcs-shadowwalker
Summary: This a crossover between the B5 and SG universes, suck at summaries, you decide... Rated M for combat-related horrors... And DEFINITELY NO LEMONS!  Chap three now loaded, let me know if missed anything!
1. Chapter 1

This fanfic is a what-if kind of scenario: what if the Stargate and B5 universes existed in the same galaxy? What if the Alterans had set a 'non-interference' zone that prevented the Vorlons and Shadows from tampering with their chosen descendants? What if they acknowledge and respect this declaration thus allowing the Alterans to ascend and leave behind their immense legacy for their 'children' to find and uncover? What will happen to the Mimbari without the 'existence' of Valen and how will this affect the Shadow War?

This is their story, the story of the Tau'ri, 'children' of the Alterans, heirs to their legacy...

…and the mark they will leave on four galaxies but none more so than the mark they will leave on the Milky Way Galaxy…

_Chapter 01:_

_Prologue_

_Earth_

_ City of Atlantis _

_ Capital of the Tau'ri Federation_

_ January 10, 2368_

_ Gate Walkers Club _

26-year old Jennifer O'Neill growls as menacing as she could at her adversary, wondering for the hundredth or so time just how was she being beaten by such an, to hell with it, OLD man.

He's her father, for goodness sake, yet here she is and being drunk under the table by Jack O'Neill himself!

Her opponent continues to best her with a broad smug grin on his well-lined face as he downs another shot of Jack Daniels, she admits to herself, at 350 something, she forgot just how old 'Old Man Jack' actually is, the old coot still looked pretty much like he did, just with a few more lines, way back when the SGC first started exploring the universe via Stargate; though he spent the first 200 years as a human popsicle, placed in cryo-stasis on the basis of keeping the SG-1 and AR-1 veterans around just in case their skills and long experience were needed again.

They were 'defrosted', as her dad loves to put it, when it became obvious that the galaxy, three and a half galaxies actually, have finally settled down into peaceful equilibrium…_ "And why do I get the feeling I just jinxed that…?"_ Jennifer thought to herself a shiver runs down her spine.

Her original purpose coming to the Gate Walkers Club, which her dad opened for the SGC and Atlantis Expedition veterans and their families for a place to relax and remember the good old days before the establishment of the Federation, was to celebrate her promotion to Captain, having climbed up the promotion ladder faster than squirrel wired on a dozen Red Bulls, thanks to the recently settled conflict in the Laurentian Galaxy, of the new _Achilles_-class Super Battleship _Achilles_ and Commander of the newly established Federation Assault Battle Group _Achilles_, which is made up of the _Achilles_ herself, six _Aurora II_-class Battleships, improved, enlarged and upgraded versions of the original Alteran _Aurora_-class, six BC-608 _Daedalus II_-class Advanced Battle Cruisers, upgraded version of the original BC-304s, with eight _Nebula_-class Star Destroyers (_Still can't believe Dad actually convinced the council AND the head of Lucasarts to use some of the ship and starfighter design off of Star Wars_.), ten _Venator-II_ class Assault Cruisers with two wings of 108 fighters each, two _Endurance_-class Fleet Carriers with a complement of four starfighter wings of 216 fighters each _(ratio is 18 to one squadron; 3 squadrons to one wing)_, 10 _Marathon_-class Heavy Cruisers with four squadrons of 72 fighters, 14 _Halcyon_-class Light Cruisers (_Another Jack O'Neill rabbit-out-of-the-hat, as he had convinced Bungie to give the Federation the rights to the Halo series, more specifically the Astraeus, Marathon, Halcyon and UNSC Frigate, now designated as the Pegasus-class Assault Frigate, plus the designs from the Wiki fanfic website; the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon technology; the designs for infantry weapons and ground armor; and the cherry topping: the MJOLNIR-series power armor,_ _dad all but drooled at the thought of being clad in power armor that will make Kull look like walking tin cans._) with two squadrons of 36 fighters, 22 _Ares_-class Heavy Destroyers, 18 _Pacific_-class Light Destroyers, 28 _Hyperion_-class Heavy Frigates, which is essentially a smaller modified version of the Rebel Assault Frigate Mk.1 with more armor, more guns, less exposed components, minus the 'thingy' hanging underneath and a pair of Light MACs built into the nose _(Think of the design as hybrid between the Hyperion-class and the Rebel Assault Frigate Mk.1 only beefier)_, 18 _Defiance_-class Strike Frigates, which is an enlarged version of the Defiant with bigger engines, more guns, more crew and thicker armor _(Star Trek wasn't a complete waste as the Defiant, Prometheus, Akira and Sovereign designs made through the design board's…and mom's scrutiny.)_ plus two short-barreled fast-firing LMACs, 18 FGE-606 _Prometheus II_-class Escort Frigates, 28 _Stormhawk_-class gunships _(think of the Corellian Gunship only larger, heavier, more turrets, six VL missile launchers for anti-fighter ops and two VL Alteran Drone launchers for anti-ship/station ops)_ and 28 _Ranger_-class Gunships _(same as the Expanded Universe's _Ranger-_class, only with 40% more guns and two more missile launchers)_...and six _Blackbird_-class Heavy Stealth Cruisers plus eight _Loki_-class Stealth Frigates for added insurance.

_(This comes up to a total of 231 warships, mind you...)_

Her head solidly thumps down on the genuine oak bar, her brain silently throbbing in pain as she pounds the surface of the bar in defeat, groaning out, "You win, Dad…and don't you think it's just a _little_ unfair that I have absolutely no drinking experience compared to you!"

Jack grins broadly as he reaches over and rubs her head in sympathy, her short brownish blonde hair now starting to grow back to its original shoulder-length tresses, "As a reserve General and as your dad in general, it is my most sacred and solemn duty to introduce my daughter to the one of the requirements of a good CO…" Jack orates in his 'very serious' tone.

Jennifer growls sarcastically, "In other words, your version of a good CO is one who can drink like one of the 'boys' one night if not drink them all under the table and fight like a madman with a killer hangover the next morning…"

"Exact…OW!" Jack yelps out as he is slapped in the back of the head.

"Jack, how many times have we talked about you not corrupting our daughter with your bad habits?" scolds Samantha Carter O'Neill, having sneaked up on her husband while he was 'distracted'.

"Hi, mom," Jennifer groans out from her face-down position on the bar, head all but literally throbbing in pain, "you got any sobriety pills on you?"

Sam smiles gently, though Jennifer couldn't see that since she's face-down on the table, "I ALWAYS carry a bunch of them since your dad's such a 'purist'." Sam pull out a glass from under the bar, filling it with water and drops a pair of bluish-white pills in to the glass, the pills instantly dissolves, turning the water dirty-white.

Jennifer grabs the glass as soon as her mother puts in on the bar and drinks it straight down, she sighs in relief as the pills immediately go to work, mentally vowing NEVER to go on a drinking binge again…or at least not against her dad, anyway.

Yet she couldn't shake this strange feeling that things are about to be turned upside down…and she, her parents and their old team, including Uncle Daniel Jackson who had decided to rejoin the mortal realm, something about being Ascended being boring after a while after all the sane, semi-insane and insane situations he found himself in as part of SG-1, are going into be the middle of it…again…

_Oi…_

Her thought are interrupted when her wrist communicator along with her mom's, dad's, Teal'c's, and Daniel's, which instantly told her one thing…SG-1 is now officially reactivated and she is no doubt going to be part of their adventures…

_Double Oi…_

She follows the group to Fleet Command, located near the top of Atlantis' central tower, just two floors above the Gate Room and one below the Council Chambers where all the representatives of the Tau'ri Federation meet.

As they cross one of the many open walkways of the city, the glint of sunlight reflecting off metal catches Jennifer's attention, looking towards the source, she couldn't believe what she is seeing, docked along on Atlantis' southeast, south and southwest arms are the old _Daedalus_, _Prometheus _(_in this timeline, the Prometheus was crippled instead of destroyed thus spending months in the yard for repairs and upgrades_) and _Odyssey_ (_similar timeline change for the Odyssey with a twist_). This suggested that her parents are back to their old jobs as First Contact specialists, general all-around butt-kickers and explorers plus they get to do it with the _Big P_, _Daedalus_ and _Odyssey _at their backs.

The briefing was pure vanilla; she is given a patrol route along the Ancient galactic boundary along with two other battle groups plus two Camelot-class fortress-ships (militarized variants of the Atlantis-class city-ships) as mid-center anchors and resupply points, though her primary mission will be to reinforce/assist/and/or extract SG-1 if and when they can for assistance, while Task Force Discovery, headed by SG-1, will make contact with any races and civilizations existing beyond the boundary, it seemed that the navigational lock for the other half of the Milky Way Galaxy has been disengaged by one of the Ascended Ancients who left behind a single message, "You are ready."

Another typically cryptic message of the Ascended Ancients.

The Prometheus, Daedalus and Odyssey, which have been reconverted back to full warship status after 200+ years as museum ships, have been reequipped with the latest weapons, armor, shields and equipment though all three ships still retain their VLS arrays and their naquadah-enhanced nuclear weapons, including a new ZPM power grid plus two naquadah reactors and four deuterium-fed cold-fusion reactors in reserve, though their outward appearance have not been changed to disguise their actual capabilities. For fighter support, the old F-302 _Mongoose_s have been replaced by newer F-310A _Thunderbolt_ (_think Thunderbolt Star Fury but with forward-swept wings, smaller more powerful engine pods, much longer range, quad ion pulse cannons in the engine pods, two assault railguns on the nose, two mini-drone launchers, shields, superior armor, inertial dampeners, mini-gravity field, hyperspace-capability and anti-gravity repulsors_), with two squadrons for the Prometheus and four squadrons plus two reserve X-wing (_same design but more streamlined, forward-swept wings, quad laser pulse cannons, triple mini-drone launchers, better shields, tougher armor, longer range and no droid but otherwise not too different for the original in terms of capability_) squadrons for the Daedalus and Odyssey along with six and 12 Puddle Jumpers respectively.

The _Prometheus_ is designed like the _Prometheus_ in the original timeline except she is 25% longer, 20% wider and 5% lower, is partially redesigned to make her look sleeker, in fact, Jack commented that the _Prometheus_ now looks like the _Daedalus'_ little brother; for protection, _Prometheus_ is equipped a new Asgard/Ancient hybrid shield system and 45 centimeters of a new type of Neutronium/Trinium/Naquadah alloy that would provide better protection than the older generation of armor; for weapons, _Prometheus_ is equipped with five heavy anti-ship double pulse/beam plasma batteries, mounted on the sides of the main hull, above the flight pods and one overlooking the main engines provide the ship-killing muscle, two heavy railgun single secondary batteries mounted on the aft centerline of the ship, 36 pulse laser/railgun hybrid quad mounts with six located under the _Prometheus_ on retracting platforms provide point defense, two Alteran drone launchers each with a load of 50 drones, 12 VLS tubes with a payload of 36 anti-ship/bombardment naquadah-enhanced 10-gigaton nuclear missiles and 48 conventional anti-ship/bombardment missiles along with two 120GT Horizon-II Gatebuster missiles in reserve and one Tollan-derived Linear Ion Beam/Pulse Cannon mounted on the 'chin' of the bow (_of course, this big gun will have Jack drooling all over it_); for ship systems, _Prometheus_ is now equipped with new increased-range Asgard transporters, Alteran neural command/control systems, life-sign scanners, improved subspace sensors and communications, biometric scanners and an AI-equipped computer system.

The _Daedalus_ and _Odyssey_ essentially remained the same design like the ones in the original timeline except both are a third longer, 15% wider and another 10 meters higher; for protection, both are equipped with the same Asgard/Ancient shield system as the _Prometheus_ as well as the type of armor though thicker at 120 centimeters and a third more dense while the bridge is moved from the top of the 'wing' to forward and just below the 'wing'; for weapons, both retain their four primary Asgard Plasma Cannon armament but with new models in place of the old ones, augmented with an addition set of primary weapons in the form of six heavy anti-ship triple pulse/beam plasma cannon batteries with three on the fore section of the 'wing' while two are mounted on the aft section and one mounted on a retractable platform on the belly, 72 pulse laser/railgun hybrid quad mounts with 12 located underneath on retractable platforms, three Alteran drone launchers, one mounted in the center of the 'wing' and two in the belly, each with a load of 80 drones, 36 VLS tubes with a payload of 72 anti-ship/bombardment naquadah-enhanced 15-gigaton nuclear missiles and 144 conventional anti-ship/bombardment missiles as well as eight 120GT Horizon-II Gatebuster missiles in reserve and a fire-linked fixed pair of Magnetic Accelerator Cannons mounted on the chin of the bow, both with a range of 350000 kilometers and each with a payload of 50 650-ton tungsten-ferrite neutronium-tipped armor-piercing slugs, accelerated to 45% SPL (Speed of Light); for ship systems, both ships are now equipped with new long ranged Asgard transporters, Alteran neural command/control systems, life-sign scanners, improved subspace sensors and communications, biometric scanners and an AI-equipped computer system.

As the briefing continues, the colonel representing Stargate Command, known also as Explorer Command, which handles all exploration related duties and missions as well as maintenance, control and regulation of all the Stargates across all four universes, have deployed cloaked recon probes across the board to every habitable planet that show signs of both life and spacefaring capability, and according to their currently compiled data, several species are involved in some kind of ideological war but they have not been able to gather any details regarding the cause of the war thus far so SG-1's primary mission will be to find the cause, if not the source, of the war as well as act an intermediary between the warring factions with the Tau'ri military acting as peacekeepers until a permanent peace treaty could be established, at the same time, the flagship team of the new Spartan Corps, Blue Team, will be along to assist SG-1 with combat-related duties as well as rapid-reaction force while the top cyber-warfare and covert-intelligence teams of the Tau'ri Federation will be along to provide peripheral support to SG-1.

SG-1 will be outfitted with the latest in both offensive and defensive technologies but outfitted according to individual preferences; Jack went for the smaller, streamlined version of the MJOLNIR armor, known as the Mjolnir-Scout (_think of it as a slimmed down version of the MJOLNIR armor but without the liquid-crystal matrix, strength augmentation is only 110%, speed is only 32 mph, reaction time is boosted by only 60%; in exchange for reduced combat capability, it boasts a larger computer system, Naquadah/Trinium armor plating, an improved Alteran regenerating personal shield capable of withstanding two minutes of sustained plasma fire and two shielded micro-fusion reactors for power_), or MS Armor, with an upgraded threat detection/analysis matrix, while arming himself with the Colt BR77E 10mm Gauss/pulse laser Hybrid Battle Rifle, customized with a D-ACOG sight, 40mm grenade launcher, extra large magazine and laser sight/designator, a TDI G-Vector .45-cal SMG with suppressor, laser sight/designator, and 2x tactical scope, a .45-cal Mk.30 Gauss pistol with laser aiming module and detachable suppressor, Zat Mk.4 sidearm and a combat knife plus a stash of C-12 explosives; Sam dons the MS Armor with an upgraded sensor suite and technology analysis matrix while arming herself with the IDI MA7E 7mm Gauss/pulse laser Hybrid Assault Rifle, customized with a SW-1 5-shot shotgun attachment, 2x tactical scope, laser sight and sensor pod, a TDI G-Vector .45 cal SMG with suppressor, sensor pod and Red Dot sight, Zat Mk.4 sidearm and a combat knife; Teal'c dons the Battle version of the Mjolnir-Scout, MS-B Armor, with an upgraded targeting suite and is armed with the HK M420 GPMG-E with red-dot scope, bipod and three 2500-round energy cartridges plus one 1200-round AP energy cartridge, a Battle Staff (think of a hybrid between the staff weapon and the force lance plus an integral sight system linked to suit's visor/HUD), one Zat Mk.5 sidearm and two combat knives; Daniel dons the Pathfinder version of the Mjolnir-Scout, MS-P Armor, with an upgraded computer system, archeological, cultural and linguistic analysis matrices and enlarged memory cores, and is armed with an HK MP-7 with directional microphone, extended magazine and red-dot sights, Zat Mk.4 plus his usual backpack, stuffed with books and notebooks.

Jennifer had one thing to say, "I take it that packing all this firepower is SG-1 SOP?"

Jack, retracting part of his helmet, answers sarcastically, "You could say that."

"Great," was the equally sarcastic reply.

Jennifer notices that her father's sights had strayed to the other peripherals of the MS armor, or more specifically, the jetpacks but before Jack could even move, both Sam and Teal'c grab Jack by the arms and drag him out of the armory with Daniel bring up the rear as usual, grinning slightly at the sight.

Jennifer sighs at her father's childish nature but knew it hid a surprising intelligence underneath, which often fooled a lot of people into underestimating her father.

She watches as SG-1 walks over the beaming pad and, in a brilliant silver flash, SG-1 is beamed aboard the _Prometheus_, following after them, grinning at the irony that she is indeed following her parents' footsteps, she nods at the operator and is beamed aboard the _Achilles_.

She makes her way to the bridge, as she steps through the door, her XO announces, "Captain on the bridge!" in accordance to naval protocol and tradition, she responds with a warm, "As you were." She watches her bridge crew resume their duties with professional speed as she takes her command chair and looks out the viewport as Task Force Discovery breaks free of the atmosphere and moves ahead of the fleet as a large hyperspace window opens before the legendary triumvirate of ships, jumps in sequence, first Daedalus, then the Prometheus and finally the Odyssey with the window closing behind her.

Jennifer looks over to her XO, "Commander, inform the battle group to prepare for hyperspace."

"Helm," she follows up on her orders, "Set course for Sector B-17E and our designated rendezvous point with _Yavin 4_."

"Engage." And with that single command, events are set in motion that will forever change the course of destiny for many races…

_In their respective homeworlds, the Vorlons sense a collective disturbance in their vaunted 'circle' but could not feel where it is coming from; the Shadows also sense that a change is coming, wondering if it could be an useful tool/ally or could be a new enemy to be destroyed; either way, the chaos they have been fermenting will be glorious…_

_ The secret war between the servants of the ordered Vorlons and the servants of the chaotic Shadows has finally blazed into open conflict!_

_ But this conflict has been met by disapproval by many of the First Ones as well as many of the Ascended so, with unanimous approval, the Alteran Navigational Lock has been disengaged thus allowing for indirect intervention…through the Tau'ri…_

_ The neutral First Ones and Ascended as well as Lorien have watched the Tau'ri grow from their humble beginnings as a young, inventive race making their bold steps into a wide and dangerous galaxy that only wished to enslave or destroy them with only a select few to hold the line and protect their one small planet that, unknown at that time, will change the destiny for hundreds of civilizations; a race that fought against impossible odds with guile, ingenuity, courage and just a bit of sarcasm and sheer bluster; a race that simple refuse to bow to what some would call an inevitable demise, only to triumph in unexpected ways and by unexpected means, the Tau'ri grew with each defeat and triumph, learning more about the universe while keeping an open mind with each new race they encounter; the expedition to what the Tau'ri call the Pegasus Irregular Galaxy and their discovery, recovery and use of the city-ship Atlantis as well as their own unique learning experience in a galaxy not their own, showed that the Tau'ri's unique talent to adopt will make them a far greater and far wiser power than that of the Ori, Shadows or Vorlons._

_ The arrival of the Tau'ri in the now-unlocked half of the Milky Way Galaxy will give the younger races a chance to truly grow on their own…and without the interference of either the Vorlons or the Shadows._

_ On Omelos, Warmaster Jha'dur awakens from a sound sleep, jerking out of the arms of her lover Warmaster Dal'shan, with an overwhelming feeling that something is coming that will change the war forever…_

_ On Mimbar, Delenn awakens for a troubled dream, her mind reverberating with the words of an unseen speaker as a galaxy majestically spun below, her mind realizing that this is her home galaxy, _'The war between the light and the darkness changes! The circle of the Vorlons will be destroyed! A new race will show the true path to enlightenment! No longer will the older races interfere with the growth of the younger races! The chosen race will break the unseen shackles and set the younger races free! True free will! All races have the sacred right to make their own path, their own destiny, not shackled to foolish singular notions of order and chaos, for such is impossibility! Chaos cannot exist without order, order without chaos; the truth lies within a balance point between both! The chosen race will come soon…they will show you, all of you, the way…' _The dream, no, vision must be shared with the Grey Council and the Vorlons as quickly as possible, that much she knew…_

_Across the 'known' universe, the leaders of every race are also receiving 'the vision', bringing hope to many but to the Yolu, secret allies of the old Alterans, this is the signal they have been patiently waiting for, the descendants of the Alterans are coming…and judging from the strength of 'the vision', they are both strong and wise but also posses an open mind with a child's sense of wonder, eager to learn the secrets of the universe…just like their predecessors._

_ But for those with designs of their own, this did not bode well for the future..._

_ They have NO idea just who they are trying to mess with..._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Encounters...of the Usual Kind (Sort of...)

_Task Force Discovery drop out hyperspace a mere 20 light-years from the former 'nav-lock' border, shortly followed by Battle Group Achilles, a small cloud of long range recon probes is launched, said probes quickly jump into hyperspace, the pattern of their dispersal, quite literally, allowing for full coverage of the remaining unexplored 10% of the Milky Way Galaxy, being designed to give maximum coverage of a large area of space while being sufficiently dense enough that no enemy ship will be able to slip past them without being detected, their cloaking system ensuring that the probes last as long as needed or until they are recalled back to their motherships but this did not mean that their passage was not, however briefly, detected...especially over several planets in particular..._

Prometheus bridge deck

General Jack O'Neill rubs his hands together like a child eager to open his Christmas presents as the data from the probes came flowing in, providing Task Force Discovery with an updated picture into what they are getting themselves into...and it wasn't pretty, it seems that several inter-stellar nations have engaged in a war of ideology...between chaos and order, of all things! According to the data, several interstellar nations were attempting to stay neutral to the fight but the problem was that both sides had developed a 'if you're not with us, then you're against us' mentality, something the Tau'ri are very familiar with...

"Here we go again," Jack mutters under his breath as his demeanor changes from eager explorer to hardened veteran.

From what he could see the race known as the Abbai were one of their best possible first contact as they were largely left alone, thanks to a defense network even he could respect but one largely considered underpowered by Tau'ri standards, however the Abbai had many contacts amongst the other races of what was known as the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, it's a visible attempt to create a sort-of interstellar League of Nations but suspicion, greed, disagreements and power plays prevented it from actually coalescing into a true power, in short, the League is nothing more than a paper tiger.

According to the Ancient database, they have an ally-in-place in the Yolu Hegemony, a secret friend and ally of the Ancients who chose to remain behind the border and monitor the development and growth of the younger races, just as Jack considers sending a dedicated communications probe into Yolu territory when the decision is taken out of his hands as a subspace distortion opens before the task force and battle group, allowing the passage of a massive organic looking starship that largely resembled a cross between a blue whale and a manta ray back into real-space.

Also on said database, they have to be wary of the Vorlons and the Shadows lest they get pulled into their ideological morass.

The _Prometheus'_ tactical computer instantly matched the new ship to a similar design in its database, color-coding the new ship in light blue as a possible friendly while sensors automatically go active, probing the ship, analyzing its systems and potential capabilities.

"Incoming transmission, General!" the communications officer calls out from his station.

"Put it up," Jack orders as part of the forward viewports polarizes into a large screen and...

Jack's, Sam's and Teal'c's eyebrows rise in surprise...well, both eyebrows for Jack and Sam while in keeping with his usual stoic demeanor, Teal'c raises one eyebrow as he utters, "Fascinating."

A bipedal whale floating in the midst of a water-filled bridge fills the screen, "Greetings, children of the Ancients," he sings out in Ancient, in a style and rhythm similar to the whale song of Earth's own cetaceans, though a masculine inflection could be distinctly heard despite the soft melodies of the voice, "I am Ambassador *click-whistle-hum-click-click*, ah, forgive me, my name is often difficult to pronounce to an air-breathing equivalent but the simplest translation would Wavewalker..."

"Greetings, Ambassador Wavewalker, I am..."

"Introductions are not needed, Daniel Jackson, the Ancients have left us several means of monitoring their side of the border..."

In typical fashion, Jack decides to cut in at this point, "So I take it that you know who we are and why we're here?"

"Indeed, General O'Neill...and may I say that the reports about your inherently insolent attitude towards superior beings scarcely render you any justice..."

Jack has a look of disbelief on his face as it was rare that someone actually manage to one-up him as Sam ducks out of viewing range and into the corridor behind the bridge just in time to laugh out loud, chased by her husband's "It's not that funny, honey!" which made her laugh all the harder.

Back on the bridge...

"Can we get back on track please?" Jack whines plaintively.

"Of course, General," Wavewalker answers back with a partially open mouth, which SG-1 would later find out was the species' equivalent to a broad grin, then Wavewalker's features become serious and solemn, "Your timing and arrival could not have been more fortuitous, General; war has descended upon the younger races and I fear that extinction of several of the younger races may be on the horizon."

Jack instantly straightens to attention as he hears this as do the rest of the team and the Prometheus' bridge crew as they recognize the underlying meaning of the Ambassador's words: one or several races are bent on genocide and without external intervention; several races will go extinct...to hell with that!

Teal'c's eyes harden as he asks, "Ambassador, can you inform us the cause or origin of this war?"

"Indeed we can, as you know many of the First Ones have either left for the Rim, have moved into Ancient, now Tau'ri, territory or have Ascended to give the younger races here both room and time to grow on their own pace but kept under the watchful eye of the Shadows and Vorlons, however both races have interfered with their growth and development on a genetic level, many races have been made extinct by their 'Shadow Wars", the races you have detected are mostly what is left..."

"**WHAT?**" Jack shouts out, followed by a low, "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid I am serious, General O'Neill," Wavewalker says with surprisingly solemn expression, "and that is not all; the Vorlons are 'cheating', as I believe the human term is."

"What do you mean?"

The Vorlons are 'cheating' by setting up a self-repeating time-loop that they themselves have created by creating predetermined 'destinies' of certain individuals in both time and space..."

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Jack growls out.

"Indeed," Teal'c growls with a resonant rumble.

"Jack, we can't let this continue," Sam points out.

"And we won't...Danny boy, take the Stargate aboard the _Achilles_ and head back to Earth, brief the Senate on what's going on and what's already happened also tell Fleet Command that we got a change of plans and we're going to need a lot more ships to fix this mess, at least a fleet's worth plus a couple more fortress-ships for added insurance...and while you're at it, call in Thor and the Asgard for additional reinforcements, I'm going to need our old buddy's advice plus their muscle for this one."

"I'm on it, Jack!" Daniel calls out as he beams away in a flash of white light.

"If I may, General, several races of the League have yet to join either side, wishing to stay neutral but I fear that the Markab at the most risk..."

"The Markab?"

A 3D hologram opens on the upper left side of the screen, showing a bear-like species wearing exactly what a monk from Earth's Middle or Modern Age would wear, and then another one appears below it, showing a Markab in Middle Age-style armor with an energy rifle strapped to its back, looking very out of place.

"A deeply spiritual species, believing that there is wonder and beauty in all of the Great Maker's creations but none more so than light. They believe in the dichotomy of the universe, that there is good and evil, light and dark, they consider themselves denizens of the light, pure in soul and purpose and that their religion makes them strong, in a way their culture is paralleled by many aspects of your own culture and religions. In fact, they are much like you Tau'ri, having a very strong sense of morality; they are an old race, older than many of the races of the League bar the Yolu and Mimbari, they could have wielded great power but they did not, no powerful fleet nor crusades of expansion and conquest or wars of aggression, only wars of defense and never beyond their borders.

"Militarily, their ships exceptionally sturdy craft but are designed largely for defense though are fairly fast and well-armed by League standards, the fleet is divided, in a sense, into two groups: the regular navy and the Warrior Orders which in fact in not dissimilar to the Military Orders of Earth history such as the Knights Templar and Hospitalier."

"Effectively speaking, they're warrior monks but better trained, commanded and slightly better equipped than the regular navy but form only a third to a quarter of their total military force?" Jack points out.

"That is correct, General, they are not equipped for nor have the necessary experience to fight a total war, their industries, infrastructure and economy are simply not capable of transiting into what you Tau'ri would call 'a wartime footing'."

"What about the relationship between the genders, Ambassador? Are the Markab...picky...about which gender serves where?"

"Oh no, the Markab believe in equity between the genders, they are an open-minded race but can be a tad fanatical if you insult their religion."

"Sam, make a note of that..."

Sam responds by slapping Jack in the back of the head.

"Who among the servants of the Shadow would be the greater threat or will we also receive aggression from the servants of the Vorlons?" Teal'c asks, ignoring and secretly amused by the by-play, pointing out a dangerous possibility, if the Tau'ri Federation does intervene...

"Aside from the two Elder Races, the greatest threat would probably come from, respectively, the Dilgar and the Drakh for the Shadows and the Mimbari and possibly the Centauri as these four are the largest and best equipped in this area of space; however, it is entirely possible that the Vorlons have what you would call 'trump cards' hidden within or in systems on the other side of their territory." Wavewalker replies after a brief discussion with someone outside the screen.

"It's probably a good idea to keep a reserve force hidden behind the border while TF Discovery and two full BGs jump in to intercept the enemy force..." Sam mutters softly.

"I disagree, Colonel Carter, given that a single Tau'ri Main Fleet is comprised of sixteen smaller Battle Groups, it would be wise to bring five Battle Groups with us to battle while the other eleven remain behind as a reserve, ready to react to new changes upon the battlefield.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting someone?" Another part of the bridge's forward viewport changes into a view-screen, revealing the irritated visage of Captain Jennifer O'Neill.

"Indeed we have, we have forgotten that we already have one battle group ready to support us which leaves us with two options: five battle groups for the vanguard force and eleven for the reserve or eight battle groups in the vanguard and eight for the reserve." Teal'c says, thinking out loud.

"I propose a compromise, our military have managed to convince our leadership to release three of our dreadnoughts to assist the Markab which includes this vessel, Star's Wave while the other two, _Star's Current_ and _Ocean Storm_, have gone ahead to rendezvous with the Markab fleet; however, time is short, long range scans of 'local' hyperspace have detected a large combined fleet of Dilgar and Drakh ships with several Shadow Battle Crabs in attendance, in total we are facing a force of close to two thousand five hundred and ten ships including the Battle Crabs."

Jack whistles at the numbers, "Does anyone else get the feeling of 'here we go again'?"

Teal'c answers with a small smirk, "Indeed it is, O'Neill. We are outnumbered but not outclassed in terms of technology, a very positive consolation."

The crewman at the sensor station calls out, "General, hyperspace event horizon opening behind us! Range 50,000 klicks!"

"Identify!" Jack calls back.

"Subspace IFF transponder signals confirmed! 3rd Fleet inbound! New signals right behind them...Asgard battle group inbound! *whistle* General, I'm reading twenty-one, repeat, two-one _O'Neill_-class battleships, thirty _Daniel Jackson_-class cruisers, sixty _Beliskner_-class escorts and twenty _Samantha Carter_-class science/engineering vessels...sir, I'm also picking up the ID of the Asgard flagship, it's the _General O'Neill_, Supreme Commander Thor's flagship."

The Communications officer cuts in, "General, incoming transmission from the _General O'Neill_."

"Well, put it up!" Jack orders with a broad grin, eager to see his 'old buddy' after so long.

"Thor, old buddy! Long time no see!" Jack all but roars as the hologram of SG-1's long-standing ally is projected on to the open space in front of the captain's chair.

"Indeed it has been a long time, O'Neill, much has happened while you were in stasis." Thor answers back in his usual unemotional tone but SG-1 have been around Thor long enough to know that he is indeed happy to have the old team back.

"I know, old buddy, I take it that Daniel briefed you on what the Yolu told us?"

"Indeed he has which is the reason why I brought this battle group with me to aid you, much like you aided the Asgard in the past; we still owe you a large debt, O'Neill."

"Hey, what are friends are for?" Jack grins broadly for a moment, then his expression became a lot more serious; Thor, with his long exposure to humans and equally long experienced with O'Neill's hidden talents and brilliance, recognized that his old friend had gone into what he like to call 'warrior' mindset, "I'm glad you're here watching our backs, Thor, cause I got the feeling that we're going to need all the muscle we can get."

Thor had long come to respect O'Neill's instincts; they have proven to be correct more often than not, much to his chagrin. "You are most welcome...old friend."

O'Neill's broad grin answered for him.

"Pardon the interruption, gentle-beings but time grows short." Wavewalker interjects gently.

"Indeed, with the forces of the Asgard at our disposal, our strength has increased significantly." Teal'c adds in.

Jennifer decides to add her own two cents. "General, I have an idea, how about we take Task Force Discovery, one Assault-type battle group...mine, two Guardian-type battle groups, the Yolu dreadnought, five _O'Neill_s, six _Daniel Jackson_s and eight _Beliskner_s to the fight while leaving the rest along with the heavy hitters of the fleet in reserve, if things start to go either way, we call in the cavalry…and I just received word from Fleet Command that the 7th and 10th Armored Divisions; 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions; Big Red One AKA 1st Infantry, 10th Infantry and 77th Infantry Divisions; 1st and 7th Assault Marine Divisions; the 1st and 3rd Battlemech Regiments; and eight detachments of SpecOps troops are enroute to join us for possible planetside operations and will rendezvous with us over Tiree. Sir."

_(Note: the Federation Navy battle groups is organized into 12 core Fleets with five in the Milky Way Galaxy, one in the Ida Galaxy, two in the Pegasus Irregular Galaxy and four in the currently contested Laurentian Galaxy along with 16 Lone Wolf Rapid Reaction Groups in support. _

_ Each fleet is divided into 16 smaller battle groups, roughly divided on a ratio of four Assault: four Defender: eight Guardian but this is subject to change depending on battlefield conditions. _

_ Assault-type BGs like the Achilles' are the hard-hitting muscle of the fleet, as the ships allocated to this type of battle group designed to deliver overwhelming firepower at the cost of overall durability though this mitigated somewhat by heavy shielding, but are limited in number due to their expense; Defender-type BGs, like the name implies, are allocated with ships designed with extra strong, fast regenerating shields and heavy armor at the cost of reduced firepower but this also limits their numbers due to their expense; the Guardian-type BGs are the core workhorses of the Federation Navy, the ships in this BG-type are designed with a fine balance of offensive and defensive capabilities and are also designed to be easily mass-produced during wartime._

_Lone Wolf RRGs are the elite raiders and surgical attack groups of the Federation Navy but they also handle a secondary role as the Navy's mobile reinforcement groups. Lone Wolf RRGs are allocated with ships that are designed to be fast, fairly well-armed and modestly durable. They are not designed for head-on engagements but are well-designed for slashing, flanking and hit-and-run attacks, however, some heavier classes of ships are included in the groups to act as anchors, linebackers and rearguard, one of them is the _Venator II_-class Assault Cruiser as well as the BC-608 _Daedalus-II_ Advanced Battle Cruiser and _Astraeus_-class Battleship.__)_

A few tense moments pass as Jack weighs his options, and then he looks up at the three expectant faces and nods, saying, "We'll go with Captain O'Neill's idea."

With that said, all three screens, well two screens and a holographic projection, wink out, return the view port back to its original state.

_Task Force Discovery moves into position at the tip of the formation as the four selected Tau'ri battle groups including Battle Group Achilles take flanking and overwatch position around the Task Force while the Asgard ships form a staggered arc above and below the Tau'ri formation; the entire group forming a diamond with an arc supporting it from below, Star's Wave moves into position above the Prometheus and between the Daedalus and Odyssey, her companions having been already sent to the front, all three ships extend their hyperspace deflection and inertial dampening fields and engage tractor beams around the Star's Wave as she is not equipped for hyperspace travel, once all is ready, the fleet synchronize their hyperdrives and open a hyperspace window large enough for the entire group to 'jump' together, all 701 ships in combat formation._

_The Markab fleet takes position over their colony of Tiree, waiting for the demons to arrive, two Yolu dreadnoughts having taken position above the fleet to provide long range weapons fire; the wait was not long as a multitude of jump points open beyond the orbit of Tiree's moon, disgorging a huge fleet of ships back into real space…_

Warmaster Jha'dur watches impassively as the combined Dilgar/Drakh fleet moves into attack formation, two of her ten Shadow Battle Crabs phasing out of hyperspace in a ripple of distortion but inwardly, she cringes slightly upon seeing the Yolu dreadnoughts, she could sense her Shadow 'adviser' doing the same; the Yolu, for all their passivity, were known to have powerful, long range weaponry capable of hurting even Battle Crabs with the first hit plus they were even capable of tracking Battle Crabs as they phase in and out of hyperspace!

She could not allow the fight to turn into a long range artillery duel as none of her ships were capable of withstanding even just two seconds worth of fire from a Yolu dreadnought, even with their new Shadow gravimetric shields, the sheer power of each beam simply popping the shield and goes through the ship like a needle through a soap bubble; on the other hand, she does have numbers on her side but the way the Markab fleet and the Yolu dreadnoughts are positioned left her puzzled, why is there such a large hole in the middle of their formation?

Her question is answered as her ship's sensor as well as the sensors across most of the fleet are overwhelmed by the sheer raw energy of the massive vortex that had unexpectedly opened just above the planet...and right in the hole she was contemplating of exploiting as a quartet of ships surge out of the vortex, one of them being another Yolu dreadnought while she was unfamiliar with the rest of the emerging fleet which totaled at 701 which significantly increased the size of the defending fleet to one thousand one hundred twenty-one ships but she couldn't shake the sudden chill at the bottom of her stomach; choosing a ship at random, Jha'dur orders a full magnification while also ordering a full stop across the fleet, halting the fleet at roughly 12000 km from the enemy fleet, the moment the image comes into focus, her 'adviser' hisses sharply, he/she/it moves quickly to the sensor station and inserts a data crystal into a convenient port, taping a series of commands into the computer, the screen split and a schematic of a ship appears, it travels across the screen and superimposes itself, suddenly Jha'dur's gut tightens in worries as the two ships show significant similarities, she turns to the Shadow creature, "Who are they?" She did not like the answer.

"The Alterans, or their children, have returned..." The creature hisses out in distinct tones of fear and respect.

"Alterans...they are a race of First Ones, aren't they?" Jha'dur asks as the frigid ball in her gut starts to grow into much larger ball.

"More than just a race of First Ones, young Jha'dur, they were the most advanced race of all of the First Ones, they were insatiably curious, more interested in the secrets of the universe, they considered tampering with the Younger Races a significant mistake and are also capable and competent combatants." The Shadow creature explains with a surprising tone of both respect and a touch of awe.

"So are these the Alterans or their children?" Jha'dur growls angrily as this new information starts to worry her...badly.

"…These are the children." The Shadow creature answers after a few moments' contemplation.

"Then this engagement…" Jha'dur starts to say but is cut off again by the Shadow creature, "Be wary, the Alterans were the undisputed masters of energy shielding."

THAT caught Jha'dur short, "E…ener…energy shielding? We face a foe equipped with energy shields?"

"Yes…both we and the Vorlons once tried to force the Alterans to join either side…it did not end well…"

Jha'dur razor-sharp mind instantly figured it out, "You were beaten?"

"No, what happened then was far worse than either race could have ever predicted; we were…massacred, a total of 2000 ships, half Vorlon, half Shadow, against a mere 800 Alteran dreadnoughts…"

Jha'dur's eyes widen in shock, a mere 800 Alteran ships took on the combined might of both the Vorlons and Shadows and won? Preposterous! Yet the Shadow creature is distinctly shivering in fear at the image before them…It was incredible! Glancing through the now-available data, which wasn't much, the data speaks of a race that has mastered energy shield technology, developed a FTL drive that allowed a ship to traverse the entire galaxy within days and to other galaxies within weeks! Jha'dur now knew that this engagement will test her and her fleet to the extreme; she now faces a race that bested the Vorlons and Shadows in might of arms, the possibility exists that she could end up dead here…

_Let it come, I will take up and relish the challenge! I will make the children of the Alterans fear my name! For I am Deathwalker!_

"Warmaster, incoming audio and visual transmission from one of the new ships, it identifies itself as the _Prometheus_, command flagship of Battle Force Intervention of the Tau'ri Federation." The communications officer calls out.

_Tau'ri, eh? Is it the name they call their species or is it something more? So many mysteries, so little time._

"On screen and coordinate with the sensor station to triangulate the _Prometheus_' position."

"At once, Warmaster."

The Shadow creature adds, "Be wary, physically, the Alterans were not very impressive, however, their minds are strong and adoptable, if anything, the children are equally capable of adapting swiftly to any situation."

Several short seconds pass as the two officers work quickly and efficiently to located the _Prometheus_ but for Jha'dur, those seconds felt like eons, she had to learn as much as she could about the Tau'ri before the two sides start to exchange weapons fire, in fact, she hoped that their energy shield technology had not yet been fully distributed...or otherwise, this fight has already been lost even before the first shot has been fired.

A creature roughly 1.85 meters standing in a relaxed yet firmly military stance in the midst of a surprisingly well-organized bridge, she could see advanced holographic systems being used around him, her eyes widen! Tangible holographics technology, the Tau'ri are definitely not lacking in technology, even on a warship. Her mind also notes the advanced looking armor encasing his whole body bar his head but she could see a small metallic ring just under the mouth which indicated a form of retractable helmet or a force field based one, in all, simultaneously intimidating and indicative of their technology level, obvious yet subtle.

"Warmaster, we have located the Prometheus, the ship is located just 50 kilometers ahead of the center Yolu dreadnought, in the middle of the new fleet!"

"This is Warmaster Jha'dur to whom am I speaking to?"

"Major General Jonathan O'Neill, commander of Tau'ri Federation Battle Force Intervention, and, for the record, Warmaster, your reputation does not impress me." The male answers her in a relaxed yet solid tone, indicating a lack of fear or respect for the Warmaster.

This direct verbal jab surprises Jha'dur momentarily, not having expected such a verbal attack from the very first, however she smiles at this and replies, "Well met general, and may I say that your fleet does not impress me."

The male laughs loudly, "Lady...Deathwalker, right? Well, lady, I'll let my ships speak for themselves...if you don't withdraw your fleet."

Jha'dur feels her smile broaden some more as she places her paws behind her back, "Then we will have to see just who has the sharper words, don't we?" She gestures at her 'adviser', the movement unseen with her body in the way.

The Shadow creature opens a channel with its brethren and orders two Battle Crabs to attack the _Prometheus_.

Normally, the sensors of any ship of any Younger Race would not detect the phase out of a Battle Crab from hyperspace nor the ship itself until it was too late but unfortunately for the Shadows, the Tau'ri's early experiences with the many forms of 'phasing' technology meant that, instead of surprising the Tau'ri, the Tau'ri already had detected and are tracking them as they phase out of hyperspace...right into the gun-sights of the _Prometheus'_ main batteries.

Jack had only one thing to say, "Fire."

Four of the _Prometheus_' main batteries traverse and elevate, taking aim at two rippling patches of space, raw plasma rapidly builds up in the energization chamber, the temperature rapidly climbing to the thousand of degrees until the chamber resembles the heart of a star, magnetic fields shift, directing the immense and lethal forces building within the chamber into the barrel of the weapon; in a single instant, eight brilliant super-focused beams of golden plasma fire blazes across the vacuum and into the unsuspecting Battle Crabs.

The Battle Crabs and their crews never saw what killed them as they phase out of hyperspace, diffusers deactivated as they have never been detected or tracked as they phased out of hyperspace, four massive beams of plasma overwhelm their gravimetric shields and lance through the entirety of their lengths with little difficulty, their crystalline armor simply shattering under the simultaneous kinetic and energy bombardment; the massive beams, only slightly depleted of their power, continue on until dissipating roughly one hundred thirty thousand kilometers away.

Jack gives Jha'dur his characteristically insolent grin and says, "Was that supposed to impress me or something, darling?"

Jha'dur's face was a study in shock and surprise, shocked that such a small ship easily butchered two Battle Crabs and surprise because the Tau'ri easily detected and tracked the Battle Crabs even as they phased out of hyperspace. Another source of her surprise is the sheer range and power of the Tau'ri weapon systems, her people had been experimenting with plasma weaponry which culminated with their plasma bolter system but it now it seems that the Tau'ri have experimented with and mastered plasma weaponry long before even the Dilgar have even begun to experiment with plasma technology. That wasn't all that bothered her though, one of those was the low level ECM field around each and every Tau'ri warship which even now was disrupting the targeting, tracking and deep penetration scans from her ships; another was the fact that the threat her eight remaining Battle Crabs pose to the enemy fleet was completely negated by the presence of the Tau'ri and their advanced sensors; thirdly was the fact that in terms of firepower, the Tau'ri had both the range and power advantages, her ships will be crossing a murderous firing line despite having shields of her own but since it was a Shadow-derived shield system and two of those just got turned into so much space junk as clearly demonstrated by the _Prometheus_...her thoughts are interrupted when her personal communicator starts to beep, knowing only her adopted family had the necessary codes to be able to access it...and only one of her adopted family is close enough to use it...Ari'shan.

Turning her back on the screen and gesturing at her communications officer to mute the audio receiver, she brings the device up to her ear, "Ari, what is it?"

"Sister, it's obvious we are out-classed in this fight...Blast it!"

"Ari, what's going on?"

"Warmaster!" her adjutant An'jash calls out, "Two of our dreadnaught Pentacans along with their fighter escort have broken formation and are attacking under sealed orders from Warmaster Len'char!"

"That idiot wouldn't be able to fight effectively even if his wretched little life depended on it! Order the two Pentacans back!" Jha'dur snarls out.

"Too late..."

Jha'dur watches in both anger and shock as the two rogue Pentacans open fire upon the _Prometheus_, only for their heaviest weapons fire to flare ineffectually against her shields, then her thoughts are derailed when she hears, "Tactical, what our shield status?" Realizing that she is still connected to the _Prometheus_, she turns just in time to hear the answer, "Shields holding at 95%, sir." This information made her cringe inwardly though her face remained unchanged, _it took the combined firepower of two dreadnaught Pentacans just to bring the Prometheus' shields down by a mere 5%!_

"Weaps, return the favor if you don't mind…"

"Aye, sir!"

_Prometheus_' response, on the other hand, was not as ineffectually as her primary batteries traverse and elevate, opening fire with sustained volleys of powerful bolts of plasma, shocking Jha'dur since Dilgar plasma weapons did not have the rate of fire to match the Tau'ri weapons plus it became obvious that Tau'ri plasma weapons can fire in both beam and pulse configuration.

The Thorun squadrons supporting the two rogue Pentacans attempt to strafe the heavy anti-ship batteries only for their weapons fire ineffectually strike against the ship's powerful shields and run afoul of the lethally accurate point-defense fire of _Prometheus_' smaller turrets, butchering the Thorun squadrons within seconds.

Jha'dur's mind swiftly analyzes the possible outcomes of engaging the combined Markab, Yolu and Tau'ri fleet; without the Tau'ri, she could bring down the enemy fleet with overwhelming weight of fire and numbers but now that the Tau'ri have joined the fight, their technological superiority and visibly military bearing have significantly tilted the fight against the Dilgar/Drakh fleet, she needed at least a ratio of 20-to-1 in terms of ships if she wanted even a small chance of beating a Tau'ri fleet head-on…and that was something she didn't have.

She also carefully mentally analyzes what combat capabilities the Tau'ri have shown thus far but already the overall picture is looking very bleak, their armaments are arranged much like the Dilgar's except that every weapon mounted on their ships outstripped their counterparts significantly in every aspect and she had no doubt that they would also have superior tracking and targeting systems to support them too.

She makes her choice...

"Warcaptain An'jash, signal the fleet...to withdraw back to friendly space. This is a fight we cannot win, not without proper intelligence and understanding of the Tau'ri's technology and capabilities." Jha'dur orders with a heavy heart but her resolve remains clear, _I will find a way to defeat you Tau'ri...and I will find it by any means necessary!_ She was certain Len'char would try and discredit her with this withdrawal but her adopted father Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan would understand her choice, engaging the Tau'ri without any idea of their technology, military and industrial capabilities, the size of their territory, etc. could lead to the defeat of the Dilgar Imperium and maybe even the Shadow Alliance but the fact the ancestors of the Tau'ri also successfully defied the Vorlons, it is possible that they may be fighting a two-front war, however, this would be mitigated by the fact that the Tau'ri are fully equipped with Alteran energy shield technology and possibly even Alteran weapons technology...this meant that, had her fleet engaged the Tau'ri, the engagement could have been a severely one-sided fight, sure, Dilgar ships were superior to Markab ships as well as having better trained and experienced commanders but the lack of information regarding the Tau'ri's military past as well as their tactics and cultural mindset would have left her vulnerable to unexpected maneuvers and surprises that probably would have killed her...and she could do that to her adopted father, Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan, and her lover, Dal'shan.

She looks resolutely at the view-screen, "General O'Neill, we will withdraw for now...but know this, I will learn everything that I will need to learn about the Tau'ri, and when I do, the Tau'ri will learn to fear the name Deathwalker!"

Much to her chagrin, General O'Neill guffaws long and hard as if he heard the funniest thing in his life, then his demeanor changes, in fact, it changed so fast that she flinches out of instinct as O'Neill growls, his tone simultaneously dangerous and predatory, "Lady, you have NO idea just who you are messing with!" He looks at someone outside the screen and nods, the connection being terminated from the Tau'ri side.

As the fleet open jump-points into hyperspace, she had the main view-screen remain locked on the assembled Tau'ri fleet, an unexpected shiver runs down her spine, making her question whether this force was the entire Intervention fleet or was this force just the vanguard, if this was the case, how many more ships were lying in wait, just waiting for her fleet to engage the vanguard force and catch her in a massive pincer attack...and odds were that the main force would have most of the fleet's battleships and dreadnaughts.

She had scans taken of the Tau'ri vanguard force's ships, hoping to gain some insights on how the powerful warships operate, especially the massive battleship _Achilles_ but according to what her officers told her, the ECM fields around every ship were powerful enough to block any form of deep scanning but they were able to get a reading of the power generation capabilities of the Tau'ri ships...and she didn't like what she heard: the _Prometheus_ was generating at least one and a half times more power than a Sharlin Warcruiser, in turn, the _Achilles_ generated at least five times more power than the _Prometheus_; this sort of power generating capabilities made sense to Jha'dur as there was little doubt in her mind that powering such powerful weapons and defensive shielding required a lot of power but what she never expect was that it was possible to do so without the use of a bulky quantum singularity system. This told her that Tau'ri were well-versed with high energy physics and technology, likely inherited from their Alteran ancestors but there is also the possibility that they had developed the technology themselves, then refined it using the knowledge they 'inherited'.

Jha'dur realizes that she had barely begun to scratch the surface of the mystery that is the Tau'ri...and she had the feeling that when she does find out just who the Tau'ri are; she was not going to be happy about it.

_Jha'dur never realizes just how prophetic that thought was..._

_ Though she never realizes that the exchange has been observed by another party…_

The Vorlon scout ship, hidden behind a large drifting asteroid, and its pilot watch impassively though inwardly the Vorlon pilot is cursing in a multitude of languages including its own at the unexpected interference of both the Yolu and the now-revealed 'children' of the Alterans…and that wasn't all, he recognized a possible upgraded variant of the Alteran's vaunted battleship-class, in fact, it was the only warship in their inventory, now it seems that the 'children' have not only upgraded the design, they have more ship classes to either complement or support it, though if the much larger Achilles was of any indication, it was now replaced as the lead ship of the line, either way and despite the noticeable changes to the design, the Aurora-class was, and still is, a dangerous and powerful ship.

Detailed scans also reveal the distinct signatures of active and armed Alteran phased plasma drone weapons, which told the pilot, had the Dilgar continued their attack, that the entire Shadow Alliance fleet would have been butchered by a single salvo of drones, the pilot shivers in fear, remembering the slaughter the Alterans had brought upon both the Shadows and Vorlons, they had waited behind their powerful shields until both sides were close, too close to effectively evaded the death and destruction that was to come, as the flanks of the Auroras blossom with golden brilliance but it was not a show of light but of death as hundreds of drones arc out of their launchers, the Vorlons and Shadows realizing too late their mistake, attempt to evade even as several of their number collide with each other in their haste to escape the Alterans' trap.

Phased weapons effortlessly pierce the defenses of Vorlon and Shadow ships alike, crystalline armor shatter like so much glass and organic bio-armor rupture as drones pierce their once-though impenetrable hides then detonate within, destroying critical systems and cutting vital connections; for the Vorlons, the pain is twofold as many if not all the Vorlons in the battle are symbiotically connected to their ships.

Alteran plasma, laser and ion cannon turrets add their fury into fray, though these were considered secondary weapons by the Alterans, their potency were undeniable as the Alterans use them to finish off crippled and dying ships.

By battle's end, only twenty-five Alteran battleships have fallen while only two severely damaged Vorlon dreadnaughts and two equally damaged Shadow Battle Crabs remain on the field but the Alterans were not without mercy as all but one battleship withdraws to a respectful distance, then a transmission is sent to both sides, a demand really but since neither side would be able to do anything about it since rebuilding their losses will take at least several centuries, the Vorlons and Shadows acquiesce to the Alteran's demand...to leave alone the area of the galaxy they have set up for themselves which covered roughly 90% of the galaxy! But since they have never been able to replicate the Alterans' FTL device, they could not match them in terms of territory explored and studied so they parted ways with the Alterans as they open a subspace rift and jump away...

Now the children have returned and it seems that they have not only equal to their predecessors but are surpassing them...but in what they need to discover...and quickly!

Kosh Nevareth sends out a signal as his scout ship jumps into hyperspace, informing the transiting combined Vorlon-Mimbari fleet to abort their planned attack/rescue and return to their respective bases...along with the information that a new player has arrived on the scene, threatening the great circle...

But Kosh feels that this time, the children of the Alterans will not be as merciful as their predecessors nor be as forgiving...

_Unfortunately for the Vorlons, the powerful sensors of the Tau'ri-Asgard fleet had already detected the Vorlon bio-ship's presence thus alerting O'Neill to a possible encounter with the Vorlons and their 'minions'. _

_"Too bad that Vorlon scout didn't hang around any long, he/she/it might have seen the arrival of the rest of the fleet,"_ Jack thought quietly to himself as several more hyperspace vortices open behind the combined fleet, disgorging the rest of 3rd Fleet.

The inbound ships are the heavy-hitters of 3rd Fleet, namely the _Astraeus_,_ Marathon_, _Warlock_ (yes, the Warlock's here too only a lot better looking and equipped), _Hydra_ (formerly _Prometheus_, I mean seriously, what kind of military force would have two ship classes sharing the same name...and besides the name Hydra suits the MVA system-equipped Prometheus better), _Osiris_, _Ragnarok_ (look these two up in Halo Fanon Wiki and you'll get the general design and look but more streamlined and more guns...this IS Jack, we're talking about after all),and _Sovereign_-classes as well as a trio of _Achilles-_class Super Battleships for variety's sake; despite the advances in technology, thanks to both Atlantis' Ancient database and the Asgard, many Tau'ri ships still incorporated 'older' technologies into their design, in keeping with the lessons learned from the Replicator War, Ori War and other smaller engagements, such as missile pods, point-defense turrets, turrets that still use projectile ammunition and so on. Close behind them are the rest of the Asgard fleet and the recently attached ground forces in support of the 3rd Fleet.

Jack grins broadly as an another massive hyperspace vortex opens and disgorges a single ship, an Atlantis-class city-ship, SDY-variant to be exact, with the 'hallowed' name of Fondor, after the Star Wars planet of Fondor which made sense since this particular variant was also a mobile shipyard and dry-dock while also being equipped with large nano-forges, enhanced shields, heavier armor, better weapons to protect itself and any ship, under construction/repair or otherwise, in docked amongst her arms.

Jack's thoughts are derailed when Prometheus' comm officer calls out, "General, incoming transmission from the _O'Neill_."

"Put it up." Was all the answer the officer received.

A hologram of Thor comes to life in front of Jack as he stands up and leans against the command chair; Thor, used to his friend's preference of informality and direct language, something he finds mentally refreshing, starts without preamble, "O'Neill, it would that we have indeed 'stirred up a hornet's nest' as you Tau'ri would say."

"Damn right we stirred up a hornet's nest but it's a hornet's nest we do know that we have stirred up; we need to impress on the Vorlons and Shadows that we WILL NOT tolerate this kind of interference with the growth and development of the younger races, they all have every right to grow and develop on their own..."

"Indeed they do, O'Neill but please keep in mind that the Mimbari will be highly indoctrinated by the Vorlons and the Drakh by the Shadows...and we might have to 'force' our doctrine upon them ourselves."

Jack sighs quietly, "Why do I get the feeling that we're going to deal with all but literal clones of the Jaffa before we came along and screwed things up for the snakeheads."

"The situation," Thor answers, "does indeed have some parallels to the Goa'uld Empire and the Jaffa except in this particular situation, both the Mimbari and the Drakh will be extensively limited in their outlook, they do not understand that order can exist within chaos, chaos within order, both states counterbalancing each other. However, it would appear that the Vorlons would not approve of our interference while it is highly probable that the Shadows would not mind, looking from their perspective, the Vorlons would see our intervention as interference with the correct order of things while the Shadows would simple see this as evolution at work and accept it."

Jack nods thoughtfully, "Yeah, from our perspective, the Shadows are at least honest about how they do things, they don't beat around the bush and scramble the poor sods with cryptic words and sentences and leaving them to rot if they don't measure up." Jack's eyes suddenly become mischievous.

"I recognize that look, O'Neill, are you planning to use psychological warfare?" Thor asks with just a hint of dread, knowing the last time, O'Neill pulled something like this...let's just say that it wasn't pretty, as the saying goes.

"Oh, you can bet on, buddy. Now I just have to round up the team and start a little brain-storming...and when we're done, well, who can predict the future?" Jack replies with an evil grin.

Thor merely sighs, knowing that, in these particular arguments, O'Neill usually had the upper hand but, on the other hand, it has it's advantages as every encounter with O'Neill always was a learning experience; it was these experiences with humanity that proved useful in dealing with situations what was once difficult and tiring, no longer was; he now realized that his people have become _jaded_ in a sense, jaded and stratified with dealing with other races, especially the younger ones, as the Asgard were used to dealing race at 'their' level of culture and technology. Now his eyes have been 'opened' on how to better connect and deal with the younger races; from a certain point of view, the Tau'ri were more fortunate than their Alteran ancestors realized, the once-fractured state of their world have prepared them on how to unify the scattered cultures and civilizations taken from their homeworld as well as incorporating non-human cultures and civilizations to the Tau'ri Federation largely due to the lessons they draw from their uniquely violent and peaceful history.

In a way, he pitied the Vorlons and the Shadows as well as their 'servants', because when O'Neill is done with them, they will either reap the benefits from joining and learning from the Tau'ri or simply fade into oblivion as they attempt to halt the coming change...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Psy-War...Tau'ri Style! (...After a Fashion)

SG-1 Procedure-

Stage 1: Plan it out...

_ It would take at least a week before Jack O'Neill and SG-1's scheming could be fully finalized but that didn't it mean that friendlies were immune..._

_ Jennifer recognized a specific chill running down her spine...Dad was up to his usual childish/insane, I'm-going-to-pawn-their-brains-out-of-their-skulls schemes again...then a sudden…and different…chill ran down her spine, engaging the neural interface, she finds her dad AND Teal'c...heading straight for the armory!_

Oi...

_Meanwhile, SG-1 have taken their scheming or in this case, their head-scratching as this was a tough assignment to plan and iron out, to their favorite locales aboard the _Achilles_, specifically the firing range, laboratory and library, keeping connected via a private conference channel even as they shoot, tinker and research..._

Jack and Teal'c take aim from their respective firing stations as holographic targets in the shape of their old 'friends' Anubis, Baal and Ra, though technically Ra got 'nuked' from the get-go, more-or-less, by Jack's team in the initial mission to Abydos; it was Ra after who started the whole damn mess in the first place.

A storm of laser fire pour out from both weapons, finger-thin for Jack's Battle Rifle, two-fingers-thick for Teal'c's GPMG, the targets snap on and off as the bolts of energy hit straight and true, a high-pitch whine fills the air of the firing range but no one is bothered by it as it was mandatory to wear helmets when in the armory area as there was a multitude of weapons being fired, often for practice, testing, competition or just for the fun of it. Jack taps a control on the nearby holo-panel with his elbow, causing his targets to move in random directions, flicking a control lever, Jack switches from auto to burst fire mode, tracking and hit each target with the skill of long experience, then the rifle beeps insistently, a quick look was all that was need...with the flick of his thumb, Jack ejects the empty magazine, the suit's built-in micro-transporter beaming empty magazine away, and engages the release of the rifle's housing as he begins the process of changing out the rifle energy weapon assembly for the projectile weapon assembly, taking only 30 seconds to swap the necessary components, finishing the process by snapping the housing back into place, slapping a 60 round magazine into the receiver and cocking it, the action slamming the first trinium-tipped tungsten-carbide into the firing chamber, the system automatically charging the magnetic firing assembly, drawing power from the micro-fusion reactor built into the rifle's stock, Jack takes aim again and fires a three-round burst, which the weapon's default setting, followed by the 'krak-krak-krak' sounds of the plasma-sheathed rounds breaking the hypersonic barrier, with literally no recoil due to the very nature of magnetic acceleration. After expending half the clip, Jack switches to full-auto and floods the area with 'lead'…with a broad grin, before reloading and repeating the process yet again.

Teal'c, on the other hand, maintains his typically stoic demeanor but those who knew him best could tell that he was enjoying himself, then upon expending the entirety of the GPMG's energy cartridge, he puts it aside and walks over to the armory's weapon selection board, noticing several new entries, he selects one that interests him with a tap on the holo-panel and the selected weapon materializes, revealing one of the Tau'ri Federation's newest weapon for its infantry forces, the X-3000 Personal Gatling Ion Cannon, essentially an improved miniaturized gatling version of the Tollan Ion Cannon, equipped with a small anti-gravity module to compensate for its weight, powered by a back-pack naquadah reactor that was rated to be good for over a million 'standard'-set rounds and/or 250,000 'turbo-charged' rounds. Snapping the back-pack reactor on to his suit's attachment points, Teal'c picks up the PGIC with a mild grunt, the weapon's weight could be felt even through the armor's augmentations and material construction, retakes his place in the firing range and let's the PGIC loose...

A sharp whining sound pierces the air of the firing range as the PGIC as the weapon starts to energize its multiple firing chambers, the barrels starts to spin around its axis and then...

_OMPH-OMPH-OMPH-OMPH-OMPH-OMPH-OMPH-OMPH_

A veritable torrent of brilliant blue-white energy tears down the firing lane, going through the target holo and striking the shield protecting the wall, dissipating in a rapid fire rippling of energy and light. Looking down at his new weapon with approval, Teal'c flicks open a red safety cover with his thumb and holds down on the button underneath, the reactor on his back hums with power as the center barrel starts to glow and a very high-pitched whine could be heard coming from the weapon, Teal'c releases the button, only for the PGIC to abruptly recoil as a massive bolt of ionized energy arcs down the lane, pierces the target and hits the shield...the firing lane's containment shield easily holds back the massive amount of energy the PGIC's secondary fire mode dishes out though enough energy bleeds through the shield and scorches the armor plating behind as well as sending a mild tremor through the deck plates.

Not one to outdone, Jack lays his Battle Rifle on the table, goes to the holo-panel, makes HIS selection and shoulders a missile launcher but not just any missile launcher, this is the X-5500 Hellbuster Micro-missile Launcher, a jack-of-all-situations weapon that can be loaded with shaped 50 MT nuclear or 'traditional' HEAT micro-missiles that can be dumb-fired, laser-guided or locked on to any target, in fact, it comes with a guarantee that you could even take out a destroyer if you hit it in the right spot with the nuclear warhead...and unfortunately it was loaded with said warhead, but before Jack could even aim...the PA speakers roar out...

_"DAD! DON'T YOU DARE USE ANY HEAVY ORDNANCE ON MY SHIP!"_

_BUSTED!_

Meanwhile Sam is in the scientific laboratory section of the Achilles, studying the data the Yolu pass to the Tau'ri about the technologies of the local races when she feels an odd tremor pass through the deck plates...and a veritable roar of "_DAD! DON'T YOU DARE USE ANY HEAVY ORDNANCE ON MY SHIP!_" from her daughter, she instantly knew that her husband and Teal'c were making trouble at the armory again; what interested her most was the slicer beam weapon and semi-organic crystalline armor of the Shadows, the 'lightning-cannon' weapon and living bio-tech ships of the Vorlons, the neutron cannon weapon of the Mimbari, the 'long range' laser cannons of the Hyach and the 'local' equivalent of the hyperspace called the jump space but her preliminary analysis has shown that jump space was significantly inferior in comparison to hyperspace for a number of reason; first, jump space is essentially a subspace layer underneath the 'real' universe, essentially a shadowy shrunk-down version of the universe but one where the lightspeed barrier does not apply; second, jump space is turbulent, much like an ocean with its currents and tides, except in this case, any form of large-scale disturbance in jump space create dangerous if not deadly ripples in the fabric of jump space thus making travel an impossibility; third, jump space is limited, extensively so, by the need of jump space beacons plus the jump space beacon network is also hobbled in itself by the lack of any form of back-up beacon or beacons should the primary beacon fail for any reason, then there is the lack of a 'midpoint' beacon to assist transiting ships in maintain their course towards their destination; and fourth, having sent a query to the Atlantis Ancient Database for any and all information regarding jump space; it was discovered that the creation of jump points, whether outgoing or incoming, can be inhibited or jammed unlike hyperspace, a weakness exploited by the Ancients in their war against the Vorlons and Shadows, the design of said device was found in the Atlantis Database and sent to the Achilles' nano-forges and Constructors to create a working prototype, which she found that it's more of an area effect device which made sense since jump points could be create just about anywhere except from within the gravity well of a planet, another weakness that can be exploited as all you need to drop out of hyperspace was an accurate set of coordinates, hell, it was even possible to enter hyperspace from within the atmospheric envelope of a planet as proven by Rodney and SGA-1 when they used what remaining energy the _Orion_ had left in her batteries to her shields and hyperdrive to escape an erupting super-volcano.

_Note: The jump point inhibitor comes from the series 'A Thin Veneer' by AlbertG so technically this isn't my equipment, the only difference is in size, the inhibitor in ATV requires it to be installed in a station, my version can be fitted to any ship of any class except of the corvette-class...and besides this IS Sam were talking here, she'll figure a way to shrink it down to size...and then some..._

_And they say SG-1's nuts…_

In regards to weapons and protection, Vorlons and Shadows are the biggest threat in both categories, however, they also a significant weakness, their ships have to be grown, literally! Both the Drakh and the Mimbari also have this weakness but not in an exact manner, their ships are both constructed and grown; by constructed, the inner hull was built in a similar manner as all the other races, and by grown, the outer hull and protective armor are literally grown into place, much like their masters.

The Federation's prior experience with bio-tech warships in the Laurentian Galaxy would give them a definitive edge against the Vorlons and the Shadows.

Judging from the information and 'technical' designs as well as technology, at least in comparison to the Laurentian Galaxy aliens, the Laurentian Galaxy aliens had far superior ships and technology than either the Shadows or Vorlons, this could be demonstrated by the fact that an entire ship could be regrown in a matter of weeks with just one somewhat intact section of a ship and it would come back tougher and stronger, in fact, the conflict in the Laurentian Galaxy took longer than it should have because of this unique capability, many ships kept coming back for more, often playing havoc with Intelligence and pissing off a lot of officers who have to reclaim their 'kills' as it were, the only problem was that the 'resurrected' ships had 'learned' from the experience and were much harder to kill.

But in comparison to their past adventures...and misadventures...plus the new technologies the Federation have developed over the centuries, this campaign is going to be a, relatively, walk in the park...

Yet she had the feeling that both Murphy's Law and the O'Neill Principle was going to come up and bite them in the collective rear...

She shrugs indifferently and goes back to her work, for as long as Jack is by her side, she was not going to worry...she'll leave that to Jack.

Then a sharp cry from a nearby baby carrier interrupts her thoughts, she walks over and picks up the bundle into her arms, humming a soft tune and unzips the upper part of her uniform, baring a breast to feed the baby, a broad smile on her face as the little one…purrs?…in pleasure as it feeds...

Daniel looks up slightly from his reading of a translation of the sacred Narn Book of G'Quan as his ears register the roar from the PA, smirking slightly, he immerses himself back into the book, his archeology-trained mind instantly picking up and unraveling the details of the cryptic texts, though this wasn't as cryptic as Alteran; he was quick to piece together what the hell has been going in this patch of the Milky Way Galaxy...and he didn't like what he was reading, which in a way is a first for Daniel; effectively speaking, the Book of G'Quan verifies what the Yolu have been telling them, the Elder Races/Ancients bar the Shadows and Vorlons have left this area of space by either Ascension or literally leaving the area behind, the previous two races were meant to be shepherd and guardians to the rest of the younger race, instead both races abused this responsibility, all for their pathetic argument of order vs chaos, if he was understanding the book correctly, both sides used the younger races as pawns in their 'war' only to result in the extinction of dozens of races and species...

He sighs quietly, _so much for a quiet read_, Daniel thought to himself as he recognizes what he's currently feeling at the moment, anger and rage, and leaves his cabin to head for the armory to engage in what Jack loves to call 'demolition therapy' when his brain suddenly has a 'light-bulb' moment.

He suddenly realizes just how to 'psyche-out' the Shadow Alliance and the Vorlon Alliance…at least his part of it.

At the same time, the rest of SG-1 also have a similar 'moment'; at the same moment, the little one stops suckling and looks at Sam and cocks it head curiously, "Mrrow?"

Jack call out into the team's private channel, "Back to the conference room, group, we got a lot work to do and a lot of people to piss off..."

_(How right he is…)_

Stage 2: Initiate Operation Psy-War

Warmaster Jha'dur, sharply focused on analyzing the woefully inadequate data on the Tau'ri and their allies, is on the bridge of the _Deathwalker_ as it orbits Omelos, in fact it was just crossing the terminus between the planet's dayside and nightside, when her communications officer interrupts her thoughts and ruminations, "Warmaster, we have an incoming priority transmission from Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan!"

She snaps back, "Put it up on the main view-screen."

The officer answers by completing the connection not even bothering to answer, Jha'dur had a reputation for action rather than words but even in field of politics, she was as sharp as the scalpels she uses and equally as deft in their use. She approves of the officer's efficiency, turning back look to the view-screen's camera and audio pick-up...

"Jha'dur," Gar'shan starts without preamble as the small 'family' never used titles between them...and the fact that his eldest son is Jha'dur's lover...and hopefully his mate, though who was the dominant one was anyone's guess..., "remember that you had our Intelligence division step up efforts to learn as much of the Tau'ri as possible...after Len'char 'disappeared' and was replaced by Warcaptain Sa'goth..., it would seem that it wasn't entirely necessary, it appears that the Abbai leadership have requested a live interview with the Tau'ri, most likely for morale and propaganda purposes, but given their much more advanced technologies and unknown tactics, the possibility exists that this is a sophisticated form of psychological warfare, one that is made more effective by the evidence of superior technology but nonetheless this will give us insight what technologies they have at their command as well as insight to their past though from what I have seen, it would appear that they have a professional military force much like ours."

Jha'dur nods, "Indeed, Gar'shan, that was my initial analysis as well but I feel that they have been professional soldiers longer than we have...and I also feel that they are a people that are, in a way, much like us...a distorted mirror of us."

"You believe that we share a parallel history of sorts but one with different outcomes?"

"Yes, Gar'shan, but how different...?" She shrugs in reply.

"Understood," Gar'shan grunts softly then he looks off to one side, "The broadcast has begun, I am relaying the channel to you now..." And Gar'shan's face is replaced by the view of a beach near the Abbai capital city where two female Abbai sit comfortably on well-padded seats while a couch large enough for five beings sits empty across from them..."

"Greeting gentlebeings," one of the Abbai reporters start to comment, "to this live and special interview with the newest arrivals to the galactic scene, they call themselves the Tau'ri, which means 'people of the first world' or 'the first people' in their language, now we are awaiting the arrival of their flagship team, SG-1...wait! What going on?"

Both Abbai jump to their feet in fear as four golden columns of light appear in front of them...then in a bright flash of light, four beings stood in place, clad in dark green coveralls that practically screamed MILITARY yet their body language spoke differently, confidence and a readiness to act, should anything negative happen but to Jha'dur, all she saw was the technology, she was utterly shocked, the Tau'ri had matter-transporter technology! Only the Vree had something similar but from what she could see the Tau'ri's version was much more advanced and had superior range to the Vree's. The group was comprised of three males and one female though she instantly recognizes General O'Neill from their previous 'engagement', she did not recognize the other three though she does recall seeing the slightly shorter fair-skinned female and the tall dark-skinned male on the bridge of the _Prometheus_, the fourth member of the team, slightly taller than the female but not as tall as his two other male companions, had the look of a field researcher or a doctor of sorts, in fact, she is reminded of the old fools in the Dilgar Science Council, only this one carries that distinctive aura of one used to potentially violent situations, if the holster strapped to his leg was of any indication, this was a researcher who knew how to fight, at least with a ranged weapon; this raised her level of respect for someone not so physically intimidating…somewhat.

This short male makes a short bow in respect to their hosts thus starting off the interview, "Greeting, daughters of the Abbai, I am Doctor Daniel Jackson; archeological, cultural, linguistics and First Contact specialist of SG-1 of the Tau'ri."

Jha'dur raises an eyebrow in surprise, it was rare for a field researcher to be so specialized in so many fields plus it sounded like he meant that he had more skills left to be seen...

The tall dark-skinned male follows, "Daughters of the Abbai, I bring you the greetings of the Jaffa people, I am Teal'c, son of Ronac, of Chulak, I am the heavy weapons specialist and representative of the Jaffa to the Tau'ri."

The blond haired female continues, "Hello, I am Colonel Samantha Carter O'Neill," Jha'dur raises an eyebrow at this, "I am the technology analyst and combat engineer specialist of SG-1 of the Tau'ri." Jha'dur notices that she is wearing some kind of backpack.

General O'Neill finishes the introductions, "Howdy, greetings from the people of Earth and of the Tau'ri Federation, I'm Brigadier-General Jonathan O'Neill, mate to Sam over here," jerking at thumb at Sam for emphasis, "combat specialist and commander of SG-1."

A somewhat indignant "Mreow!" from behind Sam's back causes Jack to add, "Oh, right!" He reaches into the pack and pulls out...a small black-based and gray-stripped creature...and turns it around with a broad grin, "And our adopted daughter, "Vale'rnia O'Neill formerly of House Battlestorm." The little cub has a typically smug feline expression of satisfaction on her muzzle but purrs deeply as her adopted father snuggles her neck...

This surprises the two Abbai, one of the them asks, "I beg your pardon, General O'Neill, but why would you adopt a child, much less one outside your species, would not a child of your own flesh and blood be...better?"

"Let me answer that," Sam cuts in as she exposes a trio of scars on her belly but it was obvious that the scar when deeper than it looked, "it was roughly 20 years ago, about a year after the birth of my second child, SG-1 was out on a mission in support of an exploration task force to a new system, we were on the ground establishing a base when one of the portable reactors malfunctioned and exploded, unfortunately it was surrounded by construction materials which meant that lethal amounts of shrapnel was blasted about in every direction, my personal energy shield took the brunt of the blast, completely depleting them then three long spikes of titanium were driven through my armor and into my lower abdomen...I later found out that both my ovaries were ruptured and my womb was pierced through, enough that..." Sam left that unsaid.

"I'm sorry for bringing up painful memories, Colonel," one of the Abbai quietly adds, Jha'dur shudders and rubs her own abdomen in sympathy, "but why would adopt a child outside your species?"

Jack answers, "One reason is because she is our god-daughter; second is because her parents were killed in action; third is because most of her clan is lost in space, we still have forces looking for them so for the time being, we took them all in; and fourth...it was the right thing to do. Isn't that right, fuzzy?" He finishes nuzzling the little cub on the neck who curled up tighter in pleasure, purring happily all the while.

This clearly surprises the Abbai as well as Jha'dur, an attitude like this simply did not exist between many of the races in this region of space plus to be made the godparents of a child, especially if the godparents were from another species, meant that both sides had a great deal of trust between them...

Jha'dur became more and more worried, the public declaration of their adoption was clearly meant to show the other races that the Tau'ri Federation were tightly bonded and trusted each other intimately, any attempt to break their alliance would probably be too time-consuming and too costly before any appreciable effect could be detected or seen.

"So how long have you known her family?"

Jack grins, "We've known her family ever since our First Contact with them as the family was in charge of First Contact as well."

"How long ago was this?"

"Oh...about 280 years ago."

This takes both Abbai aback, "But that's..."

"Cryo-stasis does wonders for your complexion," Jack answers abruptly with a broad grin.

"So how did your races meet?"

_Finally, a sensible question_, Jha'dur thought to herself.

Daniel answers, "Our two races met 280 years ago when we, the Tau'ri, dialed the Stargate address for their homeworld, Raksha..."

One of the reporters interrupts, "I beg your pardon, Dr. Jackson but what is a Stargate?"

Sam answers that, "A Stargate is an advanced piece of technology left behind by the Ancients, it is perhaps one of the technological highlights of their civilization. A Stargate is effectively a controlled wormhole through which interstellar travel is made possible without the need or use of spacecraft, literally allowing one to simply walk from planet to planet. The Ancients left a network of Stargates throughout the galaxy literally allowing anyone to simply walk from one end of the galaxy to the other; we would later discover as one of many in our vast inheritance from our Alteran ancestors; several of which you and the Dilgar have already seen, our shielding, matter-transporter, FTL, weapons and energy production which includes zero-point energy technology."

Jha'dur recoils in shock and surprise, ZERO-POINT ENERGY? The holy relic of physics? Gods above and below, if the Tau'ri are indeed telling the truth...and they have little need to lie about their technology...this meant that the Tau'ri Federation are a conglomeration of First Ones and middle-born level races and civilizations...and that meant that any attack on one would bring down the wrath of the others into the fray.

This apparently passed through the minds of the Abbai as well, "How much territory does the Federation encompass?"

Sam pulls out an oval-shaped device and activates it, projecting a large holographic image for all to see, "This is the territory under the protection and control of the Tau'ri Federation, encompassing four galaxies, of which two galaxies, the Pegasus Irregular and Ida Galaxies, on the left and right, are under our complete control while of the Laurentian Galaxy, we control roughly 75% of its territory, and finally of the Milky Way Galaxy, our mutual home galaxy, we control roughly 85% of its territory. We observe and protect developing cultures and civilizations that have yet to develop spaceflight and FTL technology, never interfering in their affairs unless the situation warrants it; we are a united coalition of dozens of human cultures, over 90 alien races including our old allies, the Asgard," highlighting the images as she runs through her explanation, showing each individual races though they lingered with the Asgard as it was obvious that their alliance with this older Vree like race was much longer than the others, personally she was more interested with the feline races, especially the Katharians or Kats, for short, for their powerful natural psionic talents.

Dr. Jackson then proceeds to tell the history of the Tau'ri and their gradual rise to intergalactic power status, he spoke of the history of their civilization, the multitude of differing races, beliefs and culture, their World Wars, the eras of peace and development, and the horrors they have inflicted on themselves; of the Goa'uld, their role in the history of the Tau'ri, their megalomania, their need for human hosts in order to survive and the destruction of their world; the discovery of the Stargate, the attempts to activate and explore what it did, the revelation that they lived in a hostile universe, their explorations, adventures, misadventures, triumphs and defeats as the flagship team, SG-1 and their gradual bonding to the numerous cultures taken from their homeworld; of their encounters with strangely familiar yet alien races, the discovery that many of the alien races were, in fact, the evolved versions of the wild creatures of Earth, the kinship and instinctive trust they have of the Tau'ri and of the truly alien races that grew and evolved on their own, protected by the lack of a Stargate; the horror of the Wraith and their vampiric ways; the Ori and their megalomania; of the desperate and insane ideas and inventions that both succeeded and failed in equal measure; in all, it painted a picture, a picture that humanity was, in their own unique way, a mirror to the universe at large, that humanity was a race that did not simple bow to the inevitable but, like a distorted mirror of the Dilgar, fought with cunning, superior battle tactics forged and tested by their own wars, adaptability and innovation, a touch of insanity, strong allies and a good deal of luck.

In Jha'dur's mind, she quickly cataloged all the information SG-1 has revealed thus far:

The word 'Tau'ri' translates to 'of the first world' or 'people of the first world'.

The Tau'ri is the founding race, and heart, of the Federation.

They are a middle-born race, descendants of the Alterans, the strongest and eldest of the First Ones, protégé to the Asgard, another First One race, in preparation for their rise as the Fifth Great Race.

The history of their world is both violent and peaceful yet this encouraged innovation on every level, affecting both civilian and military aspects alike, truly a distorted mirror of the Dilgar.

They have a long-established professional military with traditions, practices and battle-tactics drawn from long experiences in both war and peacetime as well as set rules of warfare, again a distorted mirror of the Dilgar

They have faced several technologically superior races and cultures, facing annihilation and extinction every time and simple spat in its face, triumphing against impossible odds.

To sum it all up, to cross the Tau'ri Federation was to effectively sign the death warrant of their race as they simply had everything in their favor, whether economic, scientific or military, none of the other races had a chance in standing up to the Tau'ri in open battle...or a covert one for that matter.

Jha'dur realizes that the Tau'ri Federation could have easily crushed every single race and power in the region with terrifying ease but instead they choose to inform every race just who they are dealing with, in every sense of the word, the Tau'ri are engaged in a war of intimidation...of the psychological kind, reinforced by presence of their compact yet immensely powerful warships...

Her thoughts are interrupted when one of the Abbai asks, "What are your intentions now, General?"

Jack replies with a broad grin as he cuddles his feline daughter, "Easy, our military mission here is to act as a peace-keeping/intervention force between the local races as well as search and destroy any pockets of remaining Ori forces that may have found their way here while our civilian mission to repair and/or terraform any devastated world back to full health, diplomatically assist with settling disputes and/or conflicts between the local races, study and record each of the local race's history, customs and the like, and finally, to see if any of the local races are ready to be part of the greater galactic community."

"Are there any candidates?" One asks hopefully.

"To a certain degree," Daniel answers. "We already have extended an invitation to the Yolu to join the Federation but it was declined as they liked their independence, however, they have agreed to trade and cultural exchange treaties."

"What are the benefits of joining the Tau'ri Federation?"

"Oh, many. One, you effectively connecting your world or worlds to the Stargate Network, effectively opening yourselves to the galaxy at large; second, the entire galaxy effectively becomes your trading partner as you will have access to literally thousands of worlds to trade with; third, you gain access to common-place Federation technologies such civilian-grade energy shielding and FTL systems, artificial gravity systems, long-range subspace communications, advanced sensors and the like; fourth, you also have the option of remaining independent by choosing to be allied or affiliated to the Federation, unsubjected to its laws and regulations."

"What of your armed forces?"

Jack answers that, "The Federation Armed Forces is a professional military group, in a way much like the Dilgar but unlike the Dilgar, we have established rules of warfare that have been refined over the centuries. In total military strength, the Federation has twelve active fleets, five of which are stationed here in the Milky Way, supported by sixteen Rapid Reaction Groups with a single fleet comprised of roughly 750 warships of varying classes while the RRGs roughly have 420 warships...and that's just for our naval forces; for ground forces, we have roughly 16 active army groups and 12 Marine Expeditionary Groups as the initial assault forces.

This tidbit of information shocks the leadership of every local race listening and watching the broadcast as most have only one to two fleets worth of ships at any given time with the exception of the Dilgar who have nine but this was scant comfort as the leaders of both sides realize that they have yet to feel the full might of the Tau'ri Federation; the force over Tiree was only the tip of a much, much larger blade...

But for the Vorlons and Shadows, this threw all of their carefully laid plans out the airlock…

But the local races receive another shock when Daniel makes his own input, "We would also like to invite _all_ of the local races to a conference in the Epsilon Verdanus system, which I believe is unclaimed space by any of the local races, in ten planetary cycles. The Federation will be waiting for you there; feel free to bring an honor guard, how large or small is fully up to your leaders…"

Jha'dur could sense the unspoken challenge hidden in those words…

_"You can never threaten us with force of arms...we have faced races more powerful than you and have beat them with less than a handful of ships; we have looked into the abyss and have not flinched from our duties and responsibilities; we are both explorers and soldiers at heart, we will not start a war but we will finish it; cross us at your own peril..."_

Jha'dur murmurs to herself, "Message received, Tau'ri, received loud and clear."

_But unfortunately for the most of the local races, this message was not received…_

To Be Continued...


End file.
